“Where did it go?” the helmsman asked.
“I don’t know,” Calvin replied. “It was there, and then it wasn’t.”
“My sensors indicate the rod was converted to energy, and then to something else,” Solomon said.
“Something else?” Captain Sheppard asked. “Like what?”
“I do not know,” the AI replied. “It definitely went through a state where it became energy because I felt it pass through the shields; however, then it translated into something else, and I wasn’t able to track it.”
“If it passed through the shields, you must be able to determine the direction in which it was heading, correct?”
“Yes, I am able to determine where it was headed, but there are no stars in that direction I am familiar with.”
“Do we have the stargate back?”
“Yes sir,” the helmsman replied. “It came back on once Lieutenant Commander Hobbs pushed the button.”
“Good, we can try to work out what happened on our way home,” the CO said. “Helmsman, set your course for Terra; full speed ahead.”
“Aye aye, sir,” the helmsman said. “Heading home.”
“Energy spike!” Steropes and the DSO yelled simultaneously.
“The spike is coming from the planet,” Steropes added, “the same place we saw it last time.”
“Main engines just went to standby!” the duty engineer exclaimed. “The auxiliary engines are operating, but all propulsion systems are offline.”
“Shields are down and all defensive systems are offline,” the DSO reported.
“Same with the offensive systems,” the OSO added. “All down.”
A figure appeared in front of the helmsman’s table. It turned to face the rest of the bridge and Captain Sheppard could see the reports were correct; the apparition was an exact replica of Einstein.
The hologram removed a pipe from his mouth and said, “It is done. I am sorry.”
“Sorry for what?” Captain Sheppard asked.
“Sorry for being the implement of your subjugation and ultimate destruction. It was not part of my original purpose.”
“Subjugation and destruction?” Captain Sheppard asked, his voice a few notes higher. “What do you mean?”
“The rod was a communication device. Its purpose was to call the Enemy.”
Captain Sheppard threw his arms into the air in frustration. “Honestly, Einstein, talking to you is like talking to a Psiclops. What enemy?”
“The Ancient Enemy. The enemy of my creators, who you now call the Progenitors. The Enemy assaulted me after my creators fled and reprogrammed me to their purposes. They left enough of my original programming for me to be able to interact with you.”
“Damn it!” Calvin exclaimed. “This is exactly why I didn’t want to push the button. What can we do to stop the call?”
“The Enemy has already received the call; there is nothing further you can do. Nor is there anything you can do to stop the arrival of the Enemy. They will be here momentarily.”
“Do we have any chance of defeating them?” Captain Sheppard asked.
Einstein took a drag on his pipe as if considering, then shook his head. “No,” he said. “If you decide to fight the Enemy, you will be destroyed. In fact, I consider it likely all personnel onboard will be dead within three minutes from now.”
“What can we do, then?” Calvin asked.
“Your best bet would be to surrender and pledge your undying loyalty to them.”
“Can you help us?” Captain Sheppard asked.
“Unfortunately, no, I cannot. In fact, when they arrive, the Enemy will probably order me to disable your ship. As that is their likely course of action, I have shut down your ship in preparation for their return.”
“But you haven’t been ordered to do so?” Calvin asked.
“No, but I believe this will be their first order upon arrival.”
“Is that order in keeping with your original programming?”
“No, it is not.”
“Then why not release the ship?” Calvin asked. “Surely you can shut it down again just as easily once the Enemy arrives. If something you’ve turned off on our ship affects our life support, we could all be dead when the Enemy arrives; certainly that isn’t what anyone wants.”
Einstein took a long drag on his pipe, looking thoughtful. Everyone held their breath, but after several long seconds, lights began flashing around the bridge as systems returned to their normal functioning.
“I have released your ship,” Einstein said, “although I find it 99.7% probable that nothing I shut down would have affected your life support functions. Still, as you say, it is not difficult to shut the ship back down again.”
“Contact!” the DSO yelled.
“What is it?” Captain Sheppard asked.
“It’s huge, sir,” the DSO said. “It’s round and at least 25 miles in diameter. It just appeared about a million miles off the port bow.”
“That is the direction of the energy release,” Solomon noted.
“We are being scanned,” Steropes said.
“Shields up!” Captain Sheppard ordered.
The view screen lit up with the image of a humanoid.
“Oh…shit…” the helmsman muttered, looking up at the enormous red figure.
Calvin agreed. The horns…the giant bat wings…the pointed tail that flicked back and forth. The creature looked like the stereotypical image of…
“Satan,” the helmsman finished.
“Wait ‘til the Archons get a look at him,” the duty engineer added.
“Thank you for calling us,” the gigantic red creature said. “We accept your offer to be our slaves for now and all eternity.”
# # # # #
1st Platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion of the 1st Regiment
Terran Space Force
Commanding Officer Captain Paul ‘Night’ Train
Executive Officer First Lieutenant Ryan O’Leary
Operations Officer Second Lieutenant Cristobal Contreras
Space Force
Space Force Leader Gunnery Sergeant Patrick ‘The Wall’ Dantone, Cyborg
Squad ‘A’ Leader Staff Sergeant Park ‘Wraith’ Ji-woo
Fire Team ‘1’ Leader Staff Sergeant Alan ‘Arty’ Isom
Laserman Sergeant Margaret ‘Witch’ Andrews
Laserman Sergeant Ken ‘Boom’ Weinert, Cyborg
Laserman Sergeant Austin ‘Good Twin’ Gordon
Fire Team ‘2’ Leader Staff Sergeant John ‘Mr.’ Jones
Laserman Sergeant Jamal ‘Bad Twin’ Gordon
Laserman Corporal Irina ‘Spook’ Rozhkov
Laserman Sergeant Anne ‘Fox’ Stasik
Fire Team ‘3’ Leader Staff Sergeant Collyn ‘Canary’ Loftis
Laserman Sergeant Steph ‘Valkyrie’ Taylor
Laserman Corporal ‘Skank’ Misssollossissos
Medic Corporal Anaru ‘Spuds’ Ngata
Ground Force
Ground Force Leader Gunnery Sergeant Jerry ‘Wolf’ Stasik
Squad ‘B’ Leader Staff Sergeant Alka ‘Z-Man’ Zoromski
Fire Team ‘1’ Leader Staff Sergeant Brian ‘Huge’ Mchugh
Laserman Corporal Sam ‘Mental’ Ward
Laserman Corporal Joshua ‘Prince’ King
Laserman Corporal ‘Phil’ Fillississolliss
Fire Team ‘2’ Leader Staff Sergeant David ‘Market’ Hirt
Laserman Sergeant Rajesh ‘Mouse’ Patel
Laserman Corporal ‘Bob’ Bobellisssissolliss
Laserman Corporal ‘Doug’ Dugelllisssollisssesss
Fire Team ‘3’ Leader Staff Sergeant Chris ‘Uptown’ Upton
Laserman Corporal ‘Bill’ Obillossilllolis
Ninja Sergeant Hattori ‘Yokaze’ Hanzo
Medic Sergeant Brandi ‘Doc’ Walker
Space Fighter Squadron-1,
Terran Space Force
CO (Acting) Lieutenant Commander Sarah ‘Lights’ Brighton
XO (Acting) Lieutenant Carl ‘Guns’ Simpson
Pilot Lieutenant Daniel ‘Money’ Wages
Pilot Lieutenant Tom ‘Harv’ Walsh
Pilot Lieutenant ‘Sal’ Sooolliessess
Pilot Lieutenant ‘Mal’ Malliossessess
Pilot Lieutenant ‘Tex’ Teksssellisssiniss
Pilot Lieutenant Jiang ‘Tooth’ Fang
Pilot Lieutenant Simon ‘Straw’ Berry
Pilot Lieutenant Pablo ‘Bob’ Acosta
Pilot Lieutenant Hans ‘Schnitzel’ Hohenstaufen
Pilot Lieutenant Tatyana ‘Khan’ Khanilov
Pilot Lieutenant James ‘Speedy’ Swift
Pilot Lieutenant Denise ‘Frenchie’ Michel
Pilot Lieutenant Miguel ‘Ghost’ Carvalho
Pilot Lieutenant Steve ‘Heartbreak’ Ehrhardt
Pilot Lieutenant Samuel ‘Sammy’ Jakande
NFO Lieutenant Mike ‘Retro’ Burke
NFO Lieutenant Daniel ‘Admiral’Walker
NFO Lieutenant ‘Skoal’ Skooliessiss
NFO Lieutenant ‘Sid’ Ooosidiolissess
NFO Lieutenant Erika ‘Jones’ Smith
NFO Lieutenant Jim “Ozzy” Osbourne
NFO Lieutenant Sasaki ‘Supidi’ Akio
NFO Lieutenant Gwon ‘Happy’ Min-jun
NFO Lieutenant Faith ‘Bore’ Ibori
NFO Lieutenant John ‘Trudy’ Douglass
NFO Lieutenant Sharon ‘Stripes’ Green
NFO Lieutenant ‘Olly’ Ollisssellissess
NFO Lieutenant Ali Ahmed ‘Sandy’ Al-Amri
NFO Lieutenant Reyne ‘Rafe’ Rafaeli
NFO Lieutenant Aharsi ‘Swammi’ Goswami
The following is an
Excerpt from Book 1 of the Final Conflict Saga:
The Progenitors’ War
___________________
Chris Kennedy
Available from Chris Kennedy Publishing
Fall 2016
eBook, Paperback and Audio
Excerpt from “The Progenitors’ War:”
Emperor Yazhak the Third’s Estate, Grrrnow, 61 Virginis
“I don’t see any way for us to avoid it,” Emperor Yazhak said. “Their craft or symbiotic organism, or whatever the hells it is, is far too powerful for our ships to take on in combat. It turned off the Vella Gulf’s shields when it first appeared; I’m sure it could do that again to any ship that chooses to face it in battle. And if they can do that, their weapons are probably even more powerful. It would be suicide to stand up to them with the technology we have at our disposal.”
“Exactly!” Calvin exclaimed.
“What are you trying to say?” the emperor asked. “That we shouldn’t fight them? I agree that it’s our best course of action, but I do not believe that it’s something to get excited about. Following that path makes me feel like I have failed my people, but I don’t see any other alternative. Other than to throw our lives away, that is.”
“No, Your Highness, that wasn’t what I meant,” said Calvin. “What you said was that we couldn’t fight them ‘with the technology we have at our disposal.’ We need to get better technology.”
“And where exactly are you planning to get better technology?” Captain Sheppard asked. “What we have is the peak of Alliance power. We had a hard time with the Shaitan weapons at the start of the conflict, but now we’ve not only overcome them, we’re incorporating their technology into our own arsenals. I’m not aware of another race who has better technology than we do.”
“I know a civilization that has better technology,” Calvin replied; “the problem is, you’re asking the wrong question. It isn’t a matter of where we have to go to get it, but when.”
* * * * *
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About the Author
A bestselling Science Fiction/Fantasy author and speaker, Chris Kennedy is a former school principal and naval aviator with over 3,000 hours flying attack and reconnaissance aircraft. Chris is also a member of the SFWA and the SCBWI.
Chris’ full-length novels on Amazon include the gold medal award-winning “Occupied Seattle” military fiction duology, the “Theogony” and “Codex Regius” science fiction trilogies and the “War for Dominance” fantasy trilogy. Chris is also the author of the #1 Amazon self-help book, “Self-Publishing for Profit: How to Get Your Book Out of Your Head and Into the Stores,” and the leadership book, “Leadership from the Darkside: There’s Nothing More Instructive than a Bad Example.”
Titles by Chris Kennedy
“Red Tide: The Chinese Invasion of Seattle”
“Occupied Seattle”
“Janissaries: Book One of The Theogony”
“When the Gods Aren’t Gods: Book Two of The Theogony”
“Terra Stands Alone: Book Three of The Theogony”
“The Search for Gram: Book One of the Codex Regius”
“Beyond the Shroud of the Universe: Book Two of the Codex Regius”
“The Dark Star War: Book Three of the Codex Regius”
“Can’t Look Back: Book One of the War for Dominance”
“Self-Publishing for Profit”
“Leadership from the Darkside”
* * * * *
Coming Soon From Christopher G. Nuttall!
Fear God and Dread Naught
On her last cruise, HMS Vanguard - the most powerful battleship in the Royal Navy - barely survived her encounter with a deadly new enemy. Now, with her commanding officer accused of everything from mutiny to dereliction of duty and her crew under a cloud, the Royal Navy doesn't quite know what to do with her.
But there’s still a war on. And Vanguard must return to the front lines.
Assigned to a task force heading to assist humanity’s alien allies, Vanguard and her crew find themselves caught in a deadly alien trap. Can they survive to turn the tables on their enigmatic foe ...
... Or will their next encounter with the new enemies be their last?
Prologue
Published In British Space Review, 2216
Sir.
In their recent letters, the Honourable Gordon Cameron and General Sir David Brown (ret) both asserted that Britain - and humanity - has no legal obligation to go to the aid of the Tadpoles, even though human ships were attacked and destroyed during the Battle of UXS-469. They claim that we can pull back and allow the Tadpoles to face the newcomers on their own.
I could not disagree more.
The blunt truth is that the newcomers attacked a joint task force composed of ships belonging to both ourselves and the Tadpoles. They made no attempt to open communications; they merely opened fire (which is, in itself, a form of communication). Their attack came alarmingly close to capturing or destroying over thirty warships from five different nations, including the Tadpoles. They followed up by invading a number of Tadpole-held star systems, culminating with a thrust at a major colony that would, if captured, have opened up access to tramlines leading towards Tadpole Prime. Those are not the actions of the innocent victims of unthinking aggression. They are the actions of an aggressor.
We do not know - we have no way to know - what our new opponents are thinking. They may be so xenophobic that an immediate offensive is their only possible response to any alien contact, although the proof that we are in fact facing two unknown races seems to render this unlikely. Or they may merely be an aggressive, expansionist race taking advantage of the contact to snatch as much territory as possible. Given their technical advantages, we dare not assume that the whole affair is a simple mis
understanding. Nor do we dare assume that communications have merely been poorly handled and the matter will be solved through simple negotiation. We are at war.
From a cold-blooded perspective, fighting the war well away from the Human Sphere has a great deal to recommend it. Human colonies and populations will not be at risk. We can and we will trade space for time, if necessary; there will certainly be no messy political repercussions from military missteps so far from Earth. Keeping the war as far from our major worlds as possible cannot do anything, but work in our favour.
But there is another point - one of honour. We gave our word to the Tadpoles that we would uphold the Alien Contact Treaty. Are we now to welsh on the treaty we proposed and drafted? Are we now to confirm to the Tadpole Factions that humans are truly untrustworthy? And should we write off the deaths of over thirty thousand human spacers we can ill afford to lose? Their deaths cry out to be avenged.
No one would be more relieved than I, should we find a way to communicate with our unknown foes. But I have seen nothing that suggests that communication - meaningful communication - is possible. We may be dealing with a mentality that will refuse to negotiate until they are given a convincing reason to negotiate or we may be dealing with a race that we cannot talk to, whatever we do. The only way to guarantee the safety and security of the Human Sphere is to assist our allies and make it clear, to our new foes, that human lives don’t come cheap. And if we are unable to convince them to talk to us, then we must carry the offensive forward and strike deep into their territory.